Flight of the Phoenix
by Krazee Kaz
Summary: Blue Watch suffer a series of arson attacks. Adam, Hyper and Sally each have their own theories on the identity of the arsonist.
1. Flight of the Phoenix

**LONDON'S BURNING**   
Flight of the Phoenix

_Disclaimer: Characters belong to London's Burning._   
_Main characters: Adam, Hyper, Sally._   
__

Blue Watch were in the course of tackling a fire in a derelict church. They had been pretty busy on the fire front just recently, especially where derelict buildings were concerned. Fire Investigation had been assigned to investigate the recent spate of arson attacks. 

"Look at that," George Green commented on noticing something that had been present at every single fire they had attended during the last couple of shifts. 

"Yeah, it's him again," Hyper had seen it too. "Watch out this time!" 

They pressed forward further into the flames, dragging the hose behind them. Most of the church had already crumbled with age, there wasn't much left standing apart from the front wall. The fire burned fiercely in an oil drum in the centre of the weed-covered floor. A few vagrants had legged it to safety as the oil can exploded. 

What the two firefighters were looking at was an outline of a bird, scrawled on the wall in white spray paint. This was the work of someone who liked his (or indeed her) little surprises. 

The last arson attack they had attended, in an empty shop, had almost claimed the lives of two Blue Watch firefighters. This time though, Hyper and George tried to prepare themselves as best they could for whatever the seemingly innocent oil can may have in store for them. 

A large, heavy, smoke cloud covered the church, and as it started to drift over the road, Pearce felt it necessary to get the police to stop the traffic. The smoke also poised a danger to the firefighters tackling the blaze from outside. 

Sally had also seen the insignia on the side of the only standing church wall. She hoped Hyper and George wouldn't meet with the same nasty surprise as she and Adam had. 

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed round the area as something shot up into the air like a rocket. 

"Look out!" Recall yelled as he saw the object plummeting back down to earth. 

Sally jumped aside just in time as an aerosol can hit the ground where she had been standing and rolled away, smoking. 

Recall got an extinguisher on the job. 

"This guy is a right prat!" he commented to himself. 

Sally picked up the radio to check on Hyper and George, thankfully they were fine. She warned them to be careful. 

Soon it became like bonfire night as can after can whizzed up into the air and fell back down again. Blue Watch found themselves running around trying to dodge the burning cans. Pearce ordered Recall and Adam to move the appliances out of the way. 

Eventually they managed to cool the fire, but it had proved a much more difficult task than they had first anticipated on receiving the call to the rubbish fire. But, by now, they were getting used to finding surprises in the simplest fires. 

Phoenix, as the arsonist had been dubbed as, would probably be in the crowd now, hiding somewhere so he could keep watch on the firefighters without them seeing him. According to the FI team, it was someone who knew what they were doing. Someone who knew how to create the perfect fire. The police then reckoned it was someone who had a grudge against the fire brigade for some reason, they then suggested that it could be against Blue Watch in particular as they seemed to have attended most of the attacks! 

The Watch each had their own theories on the identity of the serial arsonist.   


_London's Burning – Flight of the Phoenix © Karen Moody 19/05/2002_


	2. Cheat

**LONDON'S BURNING**   
Flight of the Phoenix   
Part 2 - Cheat (Adam's Story)

It hadn't been the first time he had slept with a married woman, but they had usually lost their husbands somewhere first. Emma, however, hadn't been entirley truthful when it came to the subject of her husband. The news came as a shock, not to mention embarrassment when both men found out. 

It was the reason he had transferred, but getting his fingers burned once hadn't put him off women. In fact the effect had been the total opposite – the danger made them more appealing. 

He had been seeing her for a couple of months before the penny finally dropped at the Watch's social gathering to celebrate a birthday. Not just any birthday either. The party was for Station Officer Tony Mills – Emma's husband. 

During the party, Adam managed to grab Emma and drag her outside where he demanded to know what she had been playing at. 

"Chill out, Adam," she remained calm and couldn't see what all the fuss was about. 

"No I won't!" he was amazed that she could be so calm at a time like this. "He's my boss!" 

"Yeah, I know." 

"You know?!" 

"Yeah, we've got a great big picture of you lot on the mantle piece! Tony's pride and joy!" 

"Wha…" he started. "I don't believe this." 

She had known what she had been doing. She tried to kiss him, but he pushed her away. 

"Just keep away from me!" he ordered her. "I don't want anything to do with you!" 

She looked hurt at his rejection. "I could always tell him…" 

"You wouldn't." 

She shrugged. "Try me." 

With that she stalked off back to the party and stayed by Tony's side all night so that Adam couldn't talk to her again without rousing suspicions, and that was the last thing he wanted. 

He later realised that Emma must have told Tony when Adam found his nose making contact with Tony's fist. He didn't have a chance to explain either, Tony refused to listen, so did the rest of the Watch. Adam decided to transfer. 

"It wasn't my fault," he was telling Hyper. 

Hyper nodded, ready to believe him. "It doesn't seem to have stopped you though!" 

"I stopped taking women seriously. You can't trust them." 

"Well, I wouldn't know about that, mate! Is she the one you were talking to this morning?" 

Adam nodded. 

The pump crew had been out inspecting hydrants earlier that day. Adam had been distracted when he saw his blast from the past – Emma. 

"Adam! Fancy seeing you here!" she recognised him immediately. 

"Emma," he didn't really want to speak to her at the moment, in fact he didn't ever want to speak to her. 

"How've you been?" she asked eagerly. 

"Fine." 

"Did you hear about Tony?" 

"No." 

"He lost his job, a few months back." 

Adam looked at her, wondering if he should take it seriously. "Why?" he asked casually. 

"For doing this," Emma pulled up her shirt sleeve to reveal a small red burn. "He's been Hell since you left." 

"He didn't need to do that! I hope he went down!" 

"Yeah, but he's out now. I don't know where he is, I've left him. But I think I should warn you, he blames you for everything," she explained. "Watch your back, I think he might come looking for you."   


"You don't think he's responsible?" Hyper asked as Adam finished telling him about the conversation with Emma. 

Adam shrugged. "If he can do something like that to his wife…" he paused. "The guy's off his rocker! And now he's after me!" 

"Well, you did have an affair with his wife!" Hyper pointed out. 

"Yeah, well maybe I deserve it, but you lot don't! If he is Phoenix, then this is all my fault!" 

"Maybe you should tell the police," Hyper advised. 

Adam considered it. "Yeah, maybe I will."   


_London's Burning – Flight of the Phoenix – Cheat © Karen Moody 10/06/2002_


	3. Scapegoat

**LONDON'S BURNING**   
Flight of the Phoenix   
Part 3 - Scapegoat (Hyper's Story)

Hyper had known very little about Adam's past, his tangled family life had been the topic of Blue Watch conversation not so long ago, but his past performances with the female species had been kept well under wraps. Well, apart from the stuff he wanted everyone to believe. He wasn't too keen to relay the list of people who might be after him for one reason or another to the police. 

Hyper had his own thoughts on the identity of "Phoenix" as, like everyone else, he still had a couple of skeletons in his closet. Everyone does stuff they want to forget, some more than others. 

He had transferred away from his last station when he admitted to being gay, much to the dislike of the rest of the Watch who then started behaving very childishly and refused to even speak to him. His own life had been jeopardised when one of them refused to buddy breathe with him, probably concerned (ridiculously) that he might catch something. But it was something else that had spurred him into making the decision to leave, not that he would have stuck around with people who wanted to see him die for what he was. They had been looking for a scapegoat, which had turned out to be him. 

They had taken to referring to him as "Nancy" or "Bender" for want of any original words. They didn't care if he heard them or not and often liked to voice their hatred very loudly. Except near senior officers of course, they weren't that stupid. 

Some time had passed since he had "come out" and things weren't getting any better. He had tried to kid himself that they were just getting used to it. But after the buddy-breathing incident, he knew he was never going to be able to work with them. He had applied for a transfer. It was his last Watch, and even though the others were glad to see the back of him, they couldn't resist giving him a leaving present he wouldn't forget. 

It was Leading Firefighter Dave Keller's fault. But only he and Hyper knew the truth of what really happened and not the lies Keller had convinced everyone of. 

An inferno was raging above them. Scorching heat spread across the ceiling as jets of flames pulsed over their heads. They had to make a split second decision, well Keller did as he was supposed to be the senior officer, not that his rank made him any more of a man. People were trapped high up on the 12th floor of a block of flats. Keller and Hyper, in BA, had entered the blaze (Keller had tried voicing his opinion of that, but no one listened). 

They recovered two casualties and were dragging them back towards the front door when they came across a locked door leading off to the right inside the flat. Hyper tried the back of the hand test, but Keller stopped him. 

"We've got the casualties, come on." 

"But I think we should check in here as well," Hyper argued. "You never know, the witness might be wrong." 

They had only been told that two people were in the flat. But the person who had told them hadn't even been in the flat, so how would they know? 

"But it's locked, you muppet," Keller pointed out. "Help me get these two outside and then we can come back, if you really want! Now come on, unless you want to be barbecued!" 

Hyper had no choice. 

It turned out that there had been a young woman inside the room. She had locked herself in the bedroom for some reason. By the time Hyper and Keller got to her, they were too late. Hyper couldn't help wondering if they had got to her sooner, would it have made any difference? What if he had gone into that room when he'd had the chance? 

There was an inquest. Keller tried to make out that it was Hyper's idea to leave the flat with the two casualties, but the Brigade had then pointed out that Keller was the LF so he had shouldered part of the responsibility. The Brigade might have been on his side, but the rest of the Watch would rather believe Keller's version of events. 

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Sally had been listening to his story. 

"I'm getting to that part," Hyper assured her. "I wouldn't have trusted Keller to put out a fire in a tea pot, and that was before I told him I was gay!" 

Having got away with it once, Keller tried his scam again, this time on another unsuspecting colleague. He was fairly new to the job and didn't know what Keller was like. Unfortunately Keller had gone to far this time, resulting in the young bloke committing suicide. 

"What did he do?" Sally was asking. 

"Dunno," Hyper replied. "But that's not the end of it. The Watch wouldn't stick by him this time, they knew he had gone too far." 

"What happened to him?" 

"They slung him out. Anyway, last I heard he was blaming me." 

"But what does it have to do with you?" Sally was confused. 

"Nothing, he's a nutter, Sal, Phoenix sounds exactly like something he would do," Hyper felt convinced. 

"Hmmn," Sally wasn't too sure. 

"I didn't like him from the moment I set eyes on him. I reconsidered hundreds of times before telling them." 

"You shouldn't be ashamed of it." 

"I'm not. But it's scary that someone wants to try and kill me just because he doesn't like what I am!" 

"He does sound like a nutter," she admitted. "Did you tell the police about him?" 

"I don't really want to start blaming him especially if he's got nothing to do with it." 

"Why not?" she demanded. "After all he did?! It's the least you can do!"   


_London's Burning – Flight of the Phoenix - Scapegoat © Karen Moody 11/06/2002_


	4. Straight

**LONDON'S BURNING**   
Flight of the Phoenix   
Part 4 - Straight (Sally's Story)

  


Frequent arson attacks were still causing headaches for Blue Watch. Sally had a headache literally after she and Adam had discovered what sort of arsonist Phoenix actually was (mad and dangerous). The Press were having a field day, in most editions of the local paper, the Blackwall Gazette, stories of the arsonists' most recent antics adorned the front page. 

PHOENIX RISES FROM THE ASHES ONCE MORE 

Yet another fire where she had been in the firing line. The first "Phoenix" fires they had attended had involved fireworks, aerosol cans, paint cans, and the odd LPG cylinder, but this time it was something much more serious. This time Phoenix was getting clever, still sick and twisted, but it must have taken brains to plan this one. This time, Phoenix planted a bomb. 

Blue Watch had been called out to a fire in yet another derelict building, this time a whole block of flats which was due for demolition. By now, they had learnt that not all rubbish fires were all they first seemed. 

"It's him again," George sighed, noticing the familiar scrawling of a bird. 

"I wonder what he's got planned this time," Hyper shook his head sadly. 

Sally and Adam were sent to investigate. 

"Ever get the feeling of déjà vu?!" Adam asked as they entered the block of flats to extinguish the small fire in the corridor of the fourth floor. 

"All the time," Sally replied. "Just be careful." 

He led the way, closer and closer to the fire, which they dealt with easily. 

"Nothing to it!" Adam grinned. 

"That was too easy," Sally agreed, looking warily around. 

"Let's just get out of here before the place blows up or something!" Adam joked. 

It was as if he'd said the magic words, as soon as he had finished the sentence, an explosion rang out, bringing the whole block crumbling down around them.   


"I'm just so glad you're both alive!" Hyper was relieved. 

"This guy's a nutter," Adam wasn't happy (with good reason). "He's got to be stopped, and what are the police doing?! Diddly shit." 

"They're doing their best," Hyper started. 

"Bollocks." 

"Adam's got a point," Sally agreed. "We could have been killed!" 

"It's not as if we haven't given them any suspects!" Adam continued. "They don't exactly have to look very far!" 

"They've let Bateman go," Hyper decided it was time to share the news. "There's no evidence." 

He eyed Sally carefully, but she just sank down in the hospital bed and sighed. 

"Bateman's so twisted he could walk up a spiral staircase in a straight line!" Adam muttered. 

Sally wasn't listening to him. 

"What's up Sal?" Hyper had picked up on her silence. "If it is Bateman, I'm sure he'll make a mistake soon." 

"Is that before or after he's killed us all?!" Adam asked. 

Hyper glared at him, he wasn't exactly making Sally feel any better. 

"I don't think it's him," she said suddenly. 

Both Adam and Hyper looked at her, surprised. "What?!" 

"He would want me to know about it." 

Adam and Hyper exchanged glances. She had a point. 

"Do you have any thoughts then?" Adam pressed. 

"One or two," Sally replied.   
  


Crew Commander Donna Taylor had been drafted in to Blue Watch to keep up the numbers while their Watch Commander disappeared on some course for something or other at Southwark. 

She reckoned Blackwall made a nice change from the leafy suburbs of Thames Reach where the only exciting thing that ever happened was when the police boat sailed up the River and got stuck in one of the locks. Or so she reckoned anyway as she told her story to Adam and Hi-Ho, who for obvious reasons, were very interested. 

"There's a better night life here anyway," she was saying. 

"You reckon?" Hi-Ho asked. "Perhaps you could point me in the right direction then cos I haven't found it yet!" 

She looked at him. "Yeah I can see that!" 

Adam didn't hide his amusement as Hi-Ho went a little pink. 

"I didn't mean it like that…" 

He was interrupted by Adam, who decided to try a spot of flirting as he usually did when there was a pretty girl within a few feet of him. 

"I know a few clubs round here…" 

"Are you talking about the dives or the classy joints?" 

"I'm offended you think I'd go into dives!" 

"Well I dunno, that pub over the road is pretty boring!" 

This time it was Hi-Ho's turn to find something to laugh about. "He lives there!" he almost choked. 

Adam glared at him. "Shut up Hi-Ho." 

Donna, however, wasn't paying any attention to him as Sally entered the mess. 

"You look like you could do with a night out," Donna suggested. 

Sally looked a little wary of the invitation. "No thanks, I remember what happened last time!" 

"What happened last time?" Adam enquired. 

But neither Donna nor Sally were about to tell him. 

"I promise it won't happen again," Donna assured her. 

"Still, I'd rather not." 

Donna shrugged. "Suit yourself."   


What had happened the last time, Sally hadn't told anyone about. But now she felt she should tell Adam and Hyper, after all they had confided in her. 

"Donna?!" Adam wasn't convinced. "No way!" 

"You don't know what happened," Sally reminded him. "She's not what you think!"   


When Donna first arrived at Blackwall (when Pearce disappeared off on some two week course) she immediately found a friend in Sally. Except Donna was looking for a bit more, as Sally soon found out when they went clubbing together. 

She had been embarrassed and shocked by it, but Donna seemed convinced she was just shy. No matter how much Sally tried to insist, she was not gay. 

"You could at least give it a try," Donna suggested. 

"No, I don't want to. I'm not attracted to women!" 

"You say that now…" 

"I'll always say that. I can't change the way I am." 

"You could if you wanted to." 

"Donna, please," she was getting a little exasperated. "I'm not gay, all right! I'm not!" 

"All right then," Donna seemed to admit defeat. 

That was until the kiss. Sally pulled away and left the club as quickly as she could. She tried to avoid Donna next Watch, which was quite easy as Adam was always hanging round her trying to get her attention. When she finally managed to loose her puppy dog, Donna took the opportunity to talk to Sally in the gym. 

"Don't go," she started as Sally was about to leave as soon as she entered. 

Sally stopped. "What?" 

"I just wanted to apologise." 

"Right, apology accepted," she tried to leave again but Donna stopped her. 

"I just need… someone…" 

"Look, I'm flattered that you find me… attractive!" Sally started. "But I just don't feel the same…" 

Donna nodded. "I know, you've made that clear! Do you know what it's like to have no one?" 

"Yes I do actually." 

"You had parents though," Donna reminded her. "I hardly knew mine." 

"I'm sorry for that, but we're not going to have a relationship. I think it would be best if you just left me alone," Sally left the gym. 

"Best for you, yeah," Donna yelled after her.   
  


"So you let her down?" Hyper asked. "It doesn't mean she wants to kill you!" 

"She was pretty upset," Sally pointed out. 

"Still," Hyper wasn't convinced that Donna was the suspect. 

"I just thought you should know." 

"I thought as much," Adam looked a little disappointed at the fact that Donna wasn't interested in him. 

Hyper grinned. "You didn't have a clue!"   
  


A few days passed, and all was quite on the Phoenix front. Sally and Adam went back to work, where they endured much less action on the shifts, much to their relief. 

"Perhaps he's trying to lull us into a false sense of security," Hi-Ho considered. 

"Shut up!" Adam didn't want to hear Hi-Ho's theories. 

"I was just saying." 

"Well don't." 

It was Adam who found the note. He went down to the Watch room, in an attempt to get away from Hi-Ho who insisted on jabbering on about Phoenix. It wasn't a topic Adam wished to discuss. 

IT SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU... 

Adam glanced up at Sally, who was sat at the desk checking over the log book. 

"Have you seen this?" he indicated the note, which lay in the mail box. 

She looked up. "No, what is it?" 

He handed it to her. "I think I know who our arsonist is..."   


_London's Burning – Flight of the Phoenix – Straight © Karen Moody 12/06/2002_


	5. Rising from the Ashes

**LONDON'S BURNING**   
Flight of the Phoenix   
Part 5 - Rising From The Ashes

  


Blue Watch were called to deal with a warehouse fire. Crews from other stations were all ready in attendance. Donna Taylor was also there, much to Sally's anxiety, especially when Griggs ordered her to help Donna fight the fire. 

"But sir…" Sally tried to protest, but Griggs was having none of it. 

Sally had no choice. She found Donna dealing with a smaller fire in one of the ground floor rooms, although she wasn't actually anywhere near the fire when Sally arrived. 

"What are you doing?" 

Donna turned to look at her. "Putting a fire out?" 

"Why a Phoenix?" 

"They are beautiful mystical birds. They set themselves on fire and are reborn again from the ashes." 

"Why are you doing this? Why me?" 

"I hate to disappoint you Sal, but news flash: The world does not revolve around you!" 

"Me and Adam could have been killed in those flats!" 

"I think you misunderstand me Sal, you wouldn't have died, you would have been reborn, don't you see?" 

"Don't start with that bollocks…" 

"You're just like everyone else in my life, my parents, the social workers… You don't give a damn about me, as long as you're happy, bugger everyone else." 

"It's not like that…" 

Donna wasn't listening. "I was three when my parents died, in a fire I started because they would rather go out than spend time with me. Then I set fire to my school because my friends would rather spend time with their boyfriends! Fire is such a fascinating element, the heat, the power…" she was staring longingly into the flames in front of her, which were growing fiercer by the second. 

"I'm gonna get Griggs…" Sally felt she had heard enough. 

"I didn't do it because of you, Sally. I did it for you, one day you will find out for yourself." 

Sally turned to leave, Donna went back to the fire. 

"It's over, Sal." 

"Yeah too right it is!" 

"It's time to be reborn…" with that she stepped right into the heart of the flames. 

When Sally looked back, Donna had been transformed into a human fireball.   


"Don't blame yourself, Sally," Hyper tried to reassure her. 

"Yeah, she was a nutter," Adam joined in. 

"You weren't saying that when you were trying to chat her up!" Hyper pointed out. 

"Yeah, well… You think you know someone…" 

"Why would anyone find fire fascinating?!" Hi-Ho shuddered. "What a weirdo!" 

"Yes, Hi-Ho," Hyper rolled his eyes. "We've already established that!" 

"Just shut up will you?!" Sally spoke for the first time since the shout. "She needed help and never got it, the only thing that ever paid any attention to her was a fire, whether she was fighting it or starting it! And, for the record, I don't blame myself, I blame the system, they let her down long before I turned up!" 

"She could have killed us, Sal!" Adam reminded her. 

"At least then someone would have sat up and paid attention!" 

"Well, she's certainly got attention now!" Adam muttered. 

"Now that it's too late yeah," Sally left the mess.   


_London's Burning – Flight of the Phoenix – Rising From The Ashes © Karen Moody 13/06/2002_


End file.
